The Tales of Uncle Remus by Julius Lester

In 1987, prominent African American professor, musician, and author Julius Lester re-wrote Joel Chandler Harris' Uncle Remus: Tales of the Old Plantation for a modern audience. Many thought this surprising, but in his forward to The Tales of Uncle Remus, Lester remembers his grandmother telling him the stories about Br'er Rabbit. Lester believes that these tales are "true American folklore," and represent a contribution to their racial pride from their African American forefathers. Lester eliminated the character of a slave telling stories to a little white boy because the tales stood on their own. Instead to tales are told by Br'er Rabbit to an old African American male. The depiction on the right shows a more accurate portrayal of an African American man. Well-dressed, with a kindly educated face. One of the reason for Lester's retelling of the stories was because Harris had used the character of Uncle Remus and the African folktales that came with him as a symbol of slavery. Lester wanted to turn this portrayal into a positive one that respected the history of his people.